With Peyton, not much amazes me any more. I had some doubts. I had some worries, for sure, but he stayed strong and was determined to get back to play the level he wanted to. He came back playing better than ever.'' â Eli Manning, Giants quarterba

DENVER – Archie Manning tried to protest. This was two years ago, before the world expected a near-perfect performance like the one his son had just finished. This was in an empty high school facility not far from his New Orleans home, light years from the AFC Championship Game.

“I have to go throw,” Peyton Manning told his father.

“I can’t catch!” Archie replied.

“You have to,” Peyton told him.

So the father did as he was told that day, catching about 15 passes from a quarterback who had just been cleared to throw after career-threatening neck surgery. Archie thought Peyton was throwing the ball well, but he had no idea if his son would play another down in the NFL.

Nobody did then.

“When you’re his age and what he went through, we just tried to stay positive along with him,” Archie Manning said. “He really had a good frame of mind of working and trying it, and if it didn’t work, he was at peace.”

The father was taken back to that place on Sunday afternoon as he stood in a jubilant Denver Broncos locker room. His middle son was a few feet away, having just pulled off an AFC Championship T-shirt and cap to jump into the shower. His other two boys, Cooper and Eli, were wandering around, soaking up another day for the ages for their brother.

The performance had seemed so routine, and that might be the most remarkable part about it. Peyton had completed 32 of 43 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-16 victory over New England. He had run his offense to perfection, killing the Patriots with long drives and smart audibles – one, in particular, produced a game-changing 28-yard run for Knowshon Moreno – and completely outplayed rival quarterback Tom Brady.

This simply looked like the best quarterback in professional football at the top of his game, and given his historic regular season with 5,467 yards and 55 touchdowns, it surprised no one.

Still: His family knew better. They knew how far he had come from the days after the surgery when he barely could throw a spiral. They understood the doubt in his mind, the uncertainty during a season away from football, and the real possibility that Peyton had thrown his final pass.

So that empty high school facility, with a father and son, was a good place to begin these two weeks of Super Bowl XLVIII hype. It is amazing enough to watch Manning now, with a full complement of weapons, have the kind of day he did against a Bill Belichick coached defense.

It is more so to remember how far back he had to climb, that he was a quarterback without a team just two years ago. That the only receiver he could find was his then 62-year-old father.

“With Peyton, not much amazes me any more,” his brother Eli said. “I had some doubts. I had some worries, for sure, but he stayed strong and was determined to get back to play the level he wanted to.

“He came back playing better than ever.”

The Giants quarterback had watched from a suite with the rest of the family, and yes, he could appreciate the symmetry of it all. He had won his second championship in Indianapolis, when Peyton was still the Colts quarterback, and now Peyton would try to win No. 2 in his building.

That quest will be the biggest storyline for this game now. Manning has a chance to enhance his legacy with a second championship, maybe once and for all ending the criticism that a soon-to-be five-time MVP should have had a better track record when the games matter the most.

Maybe that was the reason that Manning seemed like a man in a hurry after this game. The confetti was still floating in the air when he sneaked off the dais during the trophy presentation. Jim Nantz was still talking when he lifted up the rope and ducked underneath, and after a couple of brief TV interviews, he ran toward the tunnel to the locker room.

Cooper Manning had texted him earlier in the day, trying to help put the moment in perspective for his brother and remind him that the journey was just as important as the destination.

“When you know you don’t have a ton of them left, you really kind of soak them up,” Cooper said. “That was my advice to Peyton yesterday. Have fun. Have fun (on Sunday). That’s what this is all about.”

The text, Cooper said with a laugh, was ignored. If Peyton appreciates it more after the long climb to get here, he isn’t letting on yet. He said he was happy for his team, for the city, for the fans.

But everyone else seemed happiest for him, and that starts with the people closest to him who worried a moment like this would never happen again. His father. His brothers. His friends.

From throwing passes to his old man in an empty high school facility to racking up 400 yards in the AFC Championship Game. No matter how this story ends at MetLife Stadium in two weeks, this was a day for them to cherish.